Preventative care and selection of therapy for patients with suspected or known vascular disease remains a difficult task for clinicians. There are no currently available methods that completely assess the immediate risk of developing myocardial ischemia or infarction from thrombosis or atherosclerosis. Importantly, there are significant limitations of the methods now used to assess the acute risk of thrombosis or bleeding in patients with suspected or known vascular disease, particularly where the patient is receiving anti-thrombotic therapy. In addition, percutaneous intervention can increase the risk of a thrombotic event and therapies used to decrease this risk can cause bleeding.
At present, available indicators are only indirect methods for assessing such risks, since they do not reflect the risk of the final event in vessel occlusion and thrombosis. Indirect measurements include:                1. Cholesterol level: High cholesterol levels are associated with the formation of atherosclerotic plaque formation;        2. LDL cholesterol level: This “bad” type of cholesterol, with high levels associated with accelerated atherosclerotic plaque formation;        3. LDL cholesterol particle size: Particle size is another measurement of the “bad” type of cholesterol, often signifying a genetic predisposition towards the development of atherosclerosis. Small LDL particles can be seen in various hyperlipidemic states and the metabolic syndrome;        4. HDL cholesterol level: This “good” type of cholesterol, with high levels being a positive predictor in controlling the development of atherosclerosis;        5. HDL cholesterol particle size: Particle size is another measurement of this “good” type of cholesterol with large particles conferring the most protection against atherosclerosis        6. Triglyceride level: High levels are associated with various hyperlipidemic states and the metabolic syndrome which predispose patients to atherosclerosis;        7. Glucose measurements: Glucose intolerance and diabetes mellitus are associated with accelerated atherosclerosis (coronary heart disease and peripheral vascular disease). Glucose levels can be measured by standard assays. The hemoglobin A1C (glycosylated hemoglobin) is a measure of overall glycemic control. The glucose tolerance test indicates a patient's ability to clear glucose from the circulation following a glucose challenge;        8. Homocysteine levels: High levels are associated with accelerated atherosclerotic plaque formation;        9. Inflammatory markers: High levels of markers such as, e.g., C-reactive protein, Interleukin-6, and myeloperoxidase, are associated with acute myocardial infarction and the development of atherosclerosis;        10. Assessment of coagulation status: Coagulation status, as assessed by, for example, prothrombin time (PT), International Normalized Ratio (INR) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) are insufficient measures of thrombosis risk and are used to gauge anti-coagulation status (blood-thinning);        
Assessing risk of a thrombotic event is of particular importance to medical treatment of all patients where coagulation is concerned. For instance, when a patient with vascular disease is about to undergo or has undergone percutaneous intervention to relieve an arterial or vascular stenosis. Such interventions include angioplasty and stenting. Such patients are routinely treated with a variety of thrombosis inhibitors (e.g., anti-platelet drugs) to reduce the risk of acute vessel occlusion. However, at the same time, such inhibitors increase the risk of bleeding. Despite the risks, such thrombosis inhibitors are generally administered in the same dose to all patients. Since there are no universally accepted methods to assess the risk of thrombosis and acute myocardial infarction in a patient, clinicians choose instead to treat the patient with a standard dose of drugs in hopes of avoiding an event having an unknown risk. As a result, it is likely that many patients are unnecessarily over-treated with drug(s) that are associated with dangerous, life-threatening side effects. Alternatively, some patients do not achieve adequate protection against thrombosis.
There is a need in the field for improved or alternative methods for assessing risk of thrombosis and immediate risk of a cardiac event in a patient, as well as methods for tailoring therapy based on this risk and/or the responsiveness of a patient to therapy. The present invention addresses these needs.